Two And Two
by Maniac Conlon
Summary: If youve read my other story (or not) please read this one! It's about Race and a girl named Kay (actually me w/ a dif name) getting chased by the bookies! funfun! review!
1. In The Beginning...

Hey all I'm starting another story since I'm bored and ff.net is being dumb at the moment, even though by the time ur reading this it'll be good as new I'm sure…lol. Well, I'm not really sure what this will be about so I'm just going to let the words flow and see where it takes me. Lol. Absolutely no ideas…hmmm. Oh yes, and for those who didn't know, I changed my nn to Timber, courtesy of the wondrous Fiery.   
  
Two And Two By: Timber  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that were in the movie Newsies. I do own the others so don't take them without my permission. Grrrrr….lol.  
  
Race crouched down low behind the arrangement or barrels, boxes, and crates in front of him. He was being chased by the bookies. Again. He waited a good 5 or 10 minutes from after he heard the last sound to come out of his hiding place.   
  
He spotted a guy with his back turned to Race at the end of the alley. Race ducked back down. "Why'd ya have to go and choose a damn dead-end alley Racetrack Higgins?" he thought to himself. "It was only 20 bucks and why do they have to be so big?" he sighed inside. He couldn't make any noise. He watched the big man through the crack and after about half an hour or so, the man seemed to get antsy from standing there for so long, and left the alleyway. "It was a sure deal!" he whispered to himself. That's what he told himself every time.   
  
He crept out of the alley and was sneaking along the streets when someone grabbed him from behind. They had him around the neck and he couldn't get away.   
  
Another set of hands blindfolded him and he was taken along the back streets of New York City. It seemed like forever. He wondered if anyone missed him. "That's a dumb thing to think," he thought. "Of course they miss you. Jack throws a fit every time you don't get in by curfew." After another forever and a half he felt himself go through doors and into a building. In about 5 minutes he was sat in a chair. The blindfold was taken off of him.  
  
He was in a small room with a single light. He thought he was alone and thought out loud. "Oh great. Jail. You're a jackass Race." Turns out he was alone. He was tied to the chair and could move an inch.   
  
After another eternity the door opened and in walked a beautiful teenage girl accompanied by two burly men. The girl stood in front of him.  
  
"Come on Victor, he's just a kid. You made him sound like some well known criminal," she said to one of the burly men.  
  
"You're just a kid, Kay," said one of the burly men that Race assumed to be Victor.  
  
"Shut up Vic. Now, since he's just a kid, I'll just check his pockets for money, take what he has, and let him go. You got a problem with that?" she asked the burly guys, but the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes clearly said that she didn't care what they thought, and was going to do what she wanted to do with or without their approval.  
  
The burly men caught onto this along with Race. He was slightly impressed by this girl and smiled at her. She smirked in return.   
  
She leaned over and untied him, the burly men guarded the door. She smelled faintly of peppermint and when he was untied she commanded him to stand up, which he immediately obliged to. She stuck her hands in all his pockets, which made Racetrack feel more then a little weird, and he felt her slip something into the breast pocket of his vest. She gave him a look that clearly told him what he had felt.   
  
"I'm gonna escort the kid out, I think I can handle him…and I doubt he knows how to get out on his own. Vic, Danny, go find some other innocent soul to torture." she smiled.  
  
She violently grabbed Race's arm and dragged him down hallway after hallway, twisting a turning until finally he saw light at the end of the white tunnel he was being dragged through.   
  
She pulled him out the door. She looked at him, then looked around. "Don't read it now, wait till you get home, wherever that is. Your still in Manhattan, don't worry," she said when a look came across his face.  
  
"Really? I could have sworn they dragged me all the way to New Jersey," he said sarcastically.  
  
"Shush. Look, don't get into anymore trouble kid," she said and kissed him on the cheek. Then went back into the building.   
  
His hand went up to his cheek where she had kissed him and he thought about her. Those men had called her Kay. She couldn't have been much older then him, if any. She had beautiful mahogany hair and beautiful green eyes. She had tan skin and was thin, but obviously well built. His arm still hurt.   
  
He knew where he was and started walking swiftly towards the lodging house. Although she wasn't there, he still felt that he had to obey her wishes not to read the note until he got home. It was like she had some sort of lasting power over him. It was weird.   
  
He paused and took a deep breath at the door to the lodging house. He knew it was well past curfew, but he wasn't sure what Kloppy and Jack would do to him this time. He decided to stop worrying and leave it up to Fate to do all the worrying.  
  
He stepped into the lodging house. Two people were downstairs. Jack and Fate. Fate walked up to him and punched him smartly on the shoulder. "Where the hell were you Racetrack Higgins? I was worried to death." (AN: lol I was going to leave it to the real fate, but I just couldn't help myself it was too easy. Sorry if anyone has the nickname Fate, I wont write anything much more about her after this chapter J)  
  
Race sighed. "Bookies." he said. Jack rolled his eyes.  
  
"Get yer lousy ass up to bed Race." he said and Race gratefully walked up what seemed like a mile of stairs, and only stopped long enough to strip off his shirt and pants before falling into bed. He forgot completely about the note. 


	2. Nearly Missing The Point Of Contact

Chapter 2  
  
"C'mon Angel! C'mon ya dumbass!" yelled Race. He was back at the tracks. Again. "Yes. Yes! Yes!!!! YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as the horse he put the rest of his money on crossed the finish line. First. He jumped up and down and screamed like an idiot. He turned to one side and hugged the person next to him. He did the same with the other.   
  
After he had collected he was sticking all his money into the breast pocket of his vest. He felt something in there. "Race ya dumbass! Ya forgot about dat note dat da pretty goil gave ya at the bookie place yesterday!" he said to himself, receiving several well earned weird looks from the people around him. (AN: ok that was more then a lil weird I'm gonna stop trying to write in accents. Just uhh…try to imagine it) He quickly unfolded the small piece of paper.   
  
Meet me at Horace Greeley statue tomorrow 3:00 PM   
  
He quickly pulled out his pocket watch. "Dammit! 2:53! And you chose to be basically farthest from the statue in Manhattan!" he said to himself. By now the people around him had learned to ignore him. He started running. He ran and ran. By the time he made it there he was seriously out of breath, but he had made it on time.  
  
She wasn't there. He pulled himself up onto the statue to wait.  
  
~*~Meanwhile~*~  
  
"Where're you goin sweetheart?"   
  
"Out Vic."  
  
"Kay, Kay…baby….you know you cant go out without Boss's permission, and Boss ain't here. And he left me in charge, so where're you going?"  
  
Kay mind worked quickly under pressure. "Races to pick up some lousy jackasses who don't pay up."  
  
"That's more like it babe."  
  
"Don't call me babe Vic," she steamed.  
  
"I'll send Danny with you," Vic said, ignoring her comment.   
  
Kay and Danny got in the carriage and rode to the races. While they were waiting for the race to end, Kay grabbed some little kid by the shoulder.  
  
"You know where the Horace Greeley statue is?" she whispered, and the kid nodded. She quickly scribbled something down on a piece of paper and pulled a quarter out of her pocket and gave them both to the kid. "Can you take this there, really quick, and give this to the boy waiting there? He'll be wearing a vest, has a pocket watch, plaid pants, Italian. Ask him if he's waiting for someone, and if says yes, then give him this." the kid nodded and ran off with the paper and the quarter.   
  
As soon as the kid was out of sight, he stopped running. He pocketed the quarter, and looked at the piece of paper before throwing it on the ground.  
  
Sorry I couldn't make it. Same place, same time tomorrow.  
  
The kid snickered before running off.  
  
~*~Back to Race~*~  
  
Race had been sitting there for over 45 minutes before anyone he knew came by. It was Kid Blink.  
  
"Heya Race what ya doing?" Blink said, jumping up on the statue next to him.  
  
"I think I'm being stood up," Race sighed. Blink snickered, then he saw the look on Race's face.  
  
"Sorry bro. Happens to the best of us."  
  
"But see, the thing is, I didn't even ask her out, she asked me to meet her here at 3."  
  
"Wow buddy. You've been sittin here for awhile. C'mon let's go to Tibby's." Blink said, and Race shrugged. They jumped off the statue. Race didn't say much on their way there, and Blink dominated the conversation with his pretty girl stories.  
  
"And after she saw me checkin her out, she comes up and, get this, direct quote, 'May I please have a paper' she said THAT to me!" Blink said using exaggerated hand motions, and Race just nodded. "Geez boy get over it!" Blink said.  
  
Race just shrugged and nodded. They reached Tibby's and sat down in a booth with a bunch of other people. Race didn't order anything and just stared out the window towards the statue.  
  
"He got stood up," informed Blink. The rest of the people nodded.  
  
"Lookit, Race," said Starstruck. Race turned to her. "If she stood ya up, then she ain't worth your thoughts."  
  
Race shrugged again. "I guess you're right, but I'm still not hungry."   
  
~*~The Next Day~*~  
  
"Where're you going Kay?" asked Danny, who was in charge today.  
  
"Out."  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Hey, thanks Danny. You're a good friend." said Kay before heading out the door. She walked swiftly towards the Horace Greeley statue. She got there and he wasn't there yet. She pulled herself up till she was sitting on the base of the statue.  
  
She had been sitting there for half an hour, and he still hadn't showed up. She checked her watch. "I'll give him 5 more minutes, then I'm going home," she said to herself.  
  
Somewhere around the beginning of her 5 minutes, Spot Conlon walked by the statue on his way to Manhattan. He saw the girl sitting on the statue and couldn't pass her up with at least getting a little flirting in.  
  
He walked up and leaned against the statue.  
  
"Hi there," he said.  
  
She barely looked at him. "Hi."  
  
"So, what're you doing here?" asked Spot, a little shut down that she hadn't responded to his first charm.  
  
"Waiting for someone."  
  
"Oh, who, maybe I know them?" asked Spot. If he couldn't get her, he could at least be polite and try to help her, it was just his way with girls.   
  
"Well, I don't really know his name, but he's kind of short, Italian, he had a pocket watch, a plaid vest, plaid pants, a cabby hat, who know him?"  
  
"Yeah, that's Racetrack."  
  
"Figures."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I met him because he wouldn't pay up, and I really need to talk to him," she said.  
  
"No, uh-uh. I'm not gonna get my friend in trouble," said Spot and walked away.  
  
Kay gave an aggravated noise. "This is utterly HOPELESS!" she yelled to herself.  
  
Kid Blink and Racetrack chose that exact moment to walk by. Race was out in space somewhere and wasn't paying any attention to anything around him. Blink laughed at Kay.  
  
"Hey Race! That girl looks like she just got stood up too," Blink said and Race sort of nodded without looking. They walked on by her and to Tibby's.   
  
Kay had utterly given up, but she might as well get something to eat while she was in the neighborhood. She jumped off the statue. She walked up to a little restaurant that bore the name Tibby's and went inside. She sat in a booth in the corner.   
  
The place was full or noisy guys and she tried to block it out. It was rather hard. She ordered some coffee and a sandwich and waited for it to come. Then she heard something like a miracle.  
  
"Hey Racetrack I met some girl today on the Horace Greeley statue looking for you. She said she was with the bookies."  
  
"WHAT?" said Race's voice.  
  
Before that had time to register, Kay thought. "I never said I was with the bookies. Damn assumer."  
  
"Oh yeah! That must have been the same girl I saw on the statue that yelled something about this being hopeless and being stood up.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you?!?!?!" yelled Race at Spot. "Why didn't you take her to me?!?!?! You dumbass! I'm gonna kill you!"  
  
Race was about to jump Spot when Kay decided it was time for her grand entrance. She walked over to the table quickly. Race was about ready to drag Spot out of the building, but Blink was holding him back.   
  
"Excuse me boys, is there a problem?" Kay asked politely. None of them looked at her. She rolled her eyes. "Jackasses," she thought to herself.   
  
"Yeah," said Race without looking. "Spot is a dumbass."  
  
"It's not my damn fault! I was trying to protect you! I thought she wanted to like hurt you or something!" Spot yelled back.  
  
"She's a girl! She's wasn't going to hurt me!"  
  
"Well how was I supposed to know that?!?!?!!?!?!?!?"  
  
"USE YOUR BRAIN!"  
  
Kay had had just about enough of being ignored. "SHUT THE HELL UP!" she screamed above their arguing voices.   
  
All heads turned to her. "KAY!" yelled Race.  
  
"No kidding I've only been stand here for the past five minutes." she said.  
  
"Why didn't you come yesterday?" asked Race.  
  
"Because I couldn't make it, just like the note I sent with that little kid said. Shit, you didn't get the note did you?" Kay said.  
  
"Nope."  
  
"So that's why you didn't show today," Kay put 2 and 2 together.   
  
"Yeah," said Race, and before Kay knew what as happening, she and Race were hugging and she was sitting on top of Blink in the booth, where Race had dragged her, and everyone was laughing and clapping. Except Blink, who was sort of smashed, but didn't mind. 


	3. Beatin Up and Tap-Dancing

HEYHEY! Welcome to chappie 3! THANK YOUS! To the reviewers of this story: Chelci (2), Mondie (2), Clifford (1), and anyone else that I cant remember! Hehe anywhoz, read on and REVIEW, review, review! I wanna know what you think! Pwetty, pwetty pwease? Hehe…why are you still reading this? Go read my story! I promise if you stop reading this part and read the story, I'll stop writing this! *spits in hand and sticks it out. You reach for her hand. She pulls in away quickly* sike! Anywhoz, that was childish! Read on please please please please please please please? THANK YAS VERY little  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"What'd you want to meet me for?" asked Race when they were alone.  
  
"Wait, before we get down to business. What's your real name?" she asked curiously. He looked at her. She looked a lot happier then she had the first time they had met. It made her look a lot prettier. Her eyes gleamed and danced with excitement and she had a grin on her face instead of a smirk.  
  
"I don't think so babe. Name's Racetrack Higgins," he said. She frowned. "Sorry, but I've never told anyone my real name. What's yours?"  
  
She smirked. "I don't have anything to hide, unlike some other people…not to mention any names…" she smiled at him brightly, "Name's Kaylee Angelique Tarleton." she said sticking out her hand.  
  
He grinned and took her hand and brought it up to his lips. "Pleased to meet you Miss Tarleton." he said after kissing her hand lightly. She giggled, unlike her normal self, then caught herself.   
  
"Likewise," she replied. "Anyhow, down to business," when she realized what was happening. She shuddered at the thought. "I need you to help me get out."  
  
Race looked suspicious. He was still holding her hand but neither noticed. "Out of…what?"  
  
"Out of the bookies, dumbass," then she realized they were still holding hands, and tried to drop his, but he was holding on. He realized what he was doing and let go. He had a look of shock registered on his face.  
  
"And just how do you expect me to do that? The bookies hate me already!"  
  
She checked her expensive looking watch. "Shit. Gotta go. Look. Horace Greeley. Tonight. Midnight." she said, and quickly kissed him on the cheek. She put down money for her uneaten meal, and quickly left the restaurant.  
  
When she left, Spot, Blink, Jack, and Mush came back over to Race. "Getting a lil sugah there aren't we Race?" said Spot.  
  
"Lay off. We're just friends. But I do get to see her again. Tonight. Midnight." he said proudly.  
  
"Nope. No way. You know that's after curfew Higgins," said Jack firmly.  
  
"But Jack! You gotta let me go!" pleaded Race.  
  
"Nope." Jack was firm and knew he must be obeyed. Race sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets.  
  
While he was having this serious conversation with Jack, Mush, Spot, and Blink were still making sugah jokes.  
  
"Look Race, if you're not getting any sugah, would you mind if I take a lil?" asked Blink. Mush and Spot snickered.  
  
"She looks like she got plenty o lovin in her…and I wouldn't mind a piece of da pie either," said Mush.  
  
"If you guys get some I'll dig in a lil too," added Spot.  
  
"Just shut up guys. She ain't like that!" said Race.  
  
~*~That Night~*~  
  
The last of the boys were out cold and snoring up a storm around 11:45. Race waited around 10 minutes before slipping silently out of his bunk and, fully clothed, slipped out the window and down the fire escape.   
  
What he didn't know was that Jack was awake and saw him go. He sighed deeply and hoped that Race would be alright.   
  
Racetrack slipped through the quiet streets of Manhattan in the dark. He heard something rustle in the alley he was walking in front of. His heartbeat quickened. "It's just a rat, Higgins. Just a rat," he whispered to himself. It seemed to take hours instead of minutes to get to the statue. When it came in view he saw a dark shadow on the side of the statue. He walked up to it.   
  
"Kaylee?" he whispered.   
  
She looked up and he saw her face. She had a black eyes, her lip was bleeding and there were tear stains on her cheeks. When she got up he saw bruises on her arms.  
  
"Oh my…what the hell happened?" he said. She just shook her head.   
  
"Take me home with you," she whispered. Then she collapsed in his arms. He gently picked her up and discovered that she weighed almost nothing. He crept through the streets of Manhattan once again. He strained to hear her breathing. He could barely hear anything over his rasped breath.   
  
A little while later he arrived at the LH and opened the door carefully, shifting her weight onto one arm and went through the door to come face to face with the worried faces of Jack, Mush, Blink, Spot, and Starstruck.   
  
"Oh my…" Jack started but trailed off. Race lay her down on a couch and plopped down in an armchair. Starstruck immediately when to find Kloppman.   
  
In about 5 minutes, Starstruck and Kloppy came back. Race was staring off into space. Everyone was in various places sitting around the room.  
  
Starstruck gathered up Mush, Blink, Spot and Jack, and they regretfully started up the stairs. Race looked like he was going to die. Or at least pass out. Kloppman walked over to the unconscious Kay and looked at the bruises on her face, arms, and even legs where you could see where her tactfully cut off pants ended. She was wearing an undershirt on the top half of her body.  
  
Kloppman called after Starstruck. "Maybe you should do this," he said. Starstruck smiled. She headed back down the stairs.   
  
After everyone had gone to bed except Race and Starstruck, she started in on Kay. First she lifted up her shirt, because she suspected quite the same from the blood stains. There were several bruises and cuts there also. Race had his head in his hands.  
  
Eventually Starstruck finished and went upstairs. Race had fell asleep shortly before, and she didn't have to worry about Kay sleeping through the night.  
  
~*~The Next Morning~*~  
  
Race lifted his head. The room was barely lit by the still rising sun, and cast shadows all over the lobby. He blinked several times to clear his vision. When he finally could see, he saw that Kay was sitting up, and almost smiling.  
  
"Mornin Sunshine," she said quietly.  
  
"Hey, you okay?" Race asked worriedly.   
  
She nodded, painfully. Race smiled. Although she had a black eye and her lip was slightly puffy, she was as beautiful as ever. Race turned his head to see Kloppman creak up the stairs to wake the rest of the guys and girls up. Around 5 or 10 minutes later, he heard the usual creak or many feet, and voices on the floor above where he was sitting. Soon boys were drifting down the stairs, waiting for others to come. Race was having his own sort of fun, memorizing her face. Every line, crease, even bruise and cut. His head snapped toward the door when it slammed open and standing there was someone he hadn't seen in awhile.   
  
"Honey, I'm home!" said Eyes, to no one in particular. She a blonde girl who had gone visiting various friends elsewhere. "Heya Racie! Who's that? Look's like shit, no offense, what happened?"  
  
"Heya Eyes," Race replied. "That's Kay. She got beat-up," he said.  
  
"It's quite all right," said Kay, "I'm ok. It was the damn bookies. They'll probably be after me soon. You gotta hide me Race," he eyes pleaded with him, "Please."  
  
"Yeah…I will. I'll protect you with all I have and more. Nothing will hurt you," he said.  
  
Kay grinned. "I'm feeling a whole lot better already."  
  
"But we're not going out today," cut in Race.  
  
"Who do you mean we?" asked Kay, who had appeared to have made a miraculous recovery, her eyes were dancing.  
  
"The day after I met you I won huge…" he said, trailing off. "So I am staying here with you today. After all you'll need someone to entertain you," he grinned widely.  
  
"Apparently I'm ruining a moment. I'll just be going now," said Eyes who got up and left, in search of friends to scare the crap outta with her presence.  
  
Race grinned and laughed to himself.  
  
"What's so funny?" asked Kay.  
  
"I tap-dance," he said.   
  
Did ya like it? I like it. Do you hate it? I don't. I like this story :). I love Race ficcies, they aren't many of them. 


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